Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Receives $49.67 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.67.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of MO opened at $52.96 on Thursday. Altria Group has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $54.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $50.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.46. The firm has a market cap of $90.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.70%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MO. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 12,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $217,000. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 13,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.